VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Ambassador to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Sulaiman Syarif, Paraguay's Deputy Minister of Livestock, Marcelo Gonzalez and a number of association representatives from Paraguay held a meeting on Thursday (18/7). As reported by the Indonesian Embassy in Buenos Aires on Sunday (21/7), Ambassador Sulaiman was accompanied by Indonesian Honorary Consul in Asunción, Paraguay, Ricardo Sanchez. This visit was part of his visit to Expo 2024 in Asunción.

Besides, the association representatives from Paraguay who attended the meeting included the President of the Rural Association of Paraguay, Daniel Prieto, and the President of the Union of Paraguayan Industries, Enrique Duarte Luraghi.

In addition, it was also attended by the President of the Paraguayan Chamber of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries, Gerardo Garcia and the President of the Paraguayan Meat Producers and Exporters Association, Ramiro Maluff.

Ambassador Sulaiman expressed his appreciation and congratulations to Paraguay for organizing Expo 2024. The exhibition is the largest annual livestock, agriculture, industry and service sector exhibition in Paraguay. He is committed to improving economic relations between Indonesia and Paraguay.Moreover, Ambassador Sulaiman met Paraguayan business-people in the meat sector. The meeting was facilitated by the President of the MERCOSUR-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce in Paraguay, Bruno Jáen-Bohorques and the representative of the Paraguayan Rural Association, Delia Nuñez.

During the meeting, Ambassador Sulaiman affirmed the importance of the trade agreement between Indonesia and MERCOSUR, a trade organization consisting of five South American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. The agreement is expected to multiply trade between the two complementary countries.

Ambassador Sulaiman also invited business-people to participate in the INA-LAC Business Forum, Indonesia's business forum with Latin American and Caribbean countries. This year, the INA-LAC Business Forum will take place in Lima, Peru, next September.

On that occasion, Ambassador Sulaiman expressed his commitment to facilitate meetings between the sanitary authorities of both countries. He also encouraged Paraguay's halal certification body to apply for halal certification recognition to the Indonesian Halal Product Guarantee Agency (BPJPH).

Indonesian Ambassador to Ethiopia Al Busyra Basnur encouraged Indonesian diaspora to take the business opportunity in Ethiopia. That was stated by Al Busyra in a seminar titled "Indonesian Diaspora Role in Indonesia-Ethiopia Relations" at Indonesian Embassy in Addis Ababa. Besides being attended by diaspora, the seminar was also attended by successful Indonesian businessmen in Ethiopia.

The ambassador, in a written statement on Sunday (21/07/2024), said the trending opportunity was improving agricultural cooperation mainly poultry, agriculture, and fishery, as well as investment in staple products, which are raw materials available in Ethiopia.

According to Ambassador Basnur, one of the successful Indonesian businessmen was Taryat Suratman who has been doing business in Ethiopia for decades. Suratman was the first Indonesian businessman to open a factory in Ethiopia.

Besides Suratman, there was Sinta Simawang, a young Indonesian businesswoman who manages a hotel and restaurant business in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, along with her Ethiopian husband Adibe Abdella.

Al Busrya Basnur said the Indonesian diaspora has an important role in Ethiopia both in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. There are 105 Indonesian diaspora in Ethiopia who are not only working at Indonesian companies but also international or regional organizations.

Ambassador Basnur affirmed that the role of Indonesian citizens or diaspora in Ethiopia is very crucial in improving the two nations' relations and cooperation in every sector.

He said the Indonesian Embassy in Addis Ababa often involves Indonesian diaspora in diplomacy, especially public diplomacy, such as bazaar, arts and cultural performances, publishing books, and golf tournaments.

Ambassador Al Busyra Basnur added that soon the Indonesian Embassy in Addis Ababa will publish a book containing many thoughts and messages from the Indonesian diaspora in Ethiopia.

The ArtMoments Jakarta 2024 exhibition, which has an environmentally friendly concept throughout the event, is ready to be held from August 9-11 in Jakarta. The theme of this year's event is "Renewal," a concept related to human life, including personal growth, social transformation, cultural renewal, technological progress, and environmental sustainability. Co-Founder and Fair Director of this exhibition, Sendy Widjaja said, ArtMoments Jakarta presents a dynamic and immersive platform for art galleries and artists to explore the multidimensional theme of 'Renewal'.

ArtMoments Jakarta 2024 will feature leading national and international galleries with a variety of modern, contemporary, and new media art, complete with curated art tours and various other supporting events. This exhibition will also present a series of discussions from experts discussing interesting topics for creating job opportunities and networks. The event will open with a dance from Heri Dono, the first Indonesian artist to penetrate the global art scene in the early '90s. He will present a visual interpretation of poetry that is sharp criticism of the past New Order government. Apart from that, this activity will also present the American-Ivorian artist, Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, also known as Aboudia. The artist is renowned for his dynamic and expressive paintings that combine street art aesthetics with traditional African art influences.

Organizers are engaging in short-term strategies such as the use of low-emission materials and long-term plans for booth designs that support sustainability principles. Sendy also encourages participation throughout the arts community to use low-carbon materials and demonstrate significant environmental change by encouraging individuals to report emissions, set goals, form green teams, and adhere to commitments to achieve substantial environmental progress. They use recycled panels to reduce the use of wood which has an impact on deforestation.

This weekend edition of Miscellany presents another achievement of Indonesian youth on the world stage. The student choir of Sebelas Maret State University Solo (UNS), Voca Erudita, won five awards in the International Choir Competition at the Musica Orbis Prague Festival in Prague, Czech Republic on Saturday (29/6/2024), and the 58th Internationaler Chorwettbewerb in Spittal an der Drau, Austria, on Friday (5/7/2024), and Saturday (6/7/2024). Voca Erudita emerged as Champion Folklore Repertoire (Mixed Choir), Champion Sacred Repertoire (Mixed Choir), and Grand Champion at the Musica Orbis Prague Festival. Meanwhile, at the 58th International Chorwettbewerb competition in Spittal an der Drau, Carinthia state, Austria on 4 - 7 July 2024, Voca Erudita came out as Champion of Choral Works, Classic and Modern Category, and 2nd Prize Winner of Folksong Category.

Voca Erudita supervisor, Pringgo Widyo Laksono said, Musica Orbis Prague Festival is a festival-based competition held to appreciate art, especially in the field of choir and orchestra teams from all over the world. Along with 18 participants from 16 different countries, Voca Erudita had the opportunity to show her abilities at the Prague Conservatory Hall. She performed 3 songs, namely "Lancang Kuning" from Riau Province arranged by Mahardika Simbolon, "Gayatri" a Balinese regional song, arranged by Bagus S. Utomo, and "Yamko Rambe Yamko" a Papuan regional song arranged by Agustinus Bambang Jusana. As for the 58th Internationaler Chorwettbewerb in Spittal an der Drau, Voca Erudita sang classic songs entitled "O Rossignuol" by Monteverdi and "Give Us Peace" by Nana Forte. In the free song category, the UNS Student Choir performed "O Magnum Mysterium" arranged by Javier Busto, and "HAYA!" by Karin Rehnqvist. Meanwhile, in the Folklore Category, Voca Erudita presented Hela Rotane, Lancang Kuning, and Gayatri. These regional songs were performed with agile movements and props that supported the performance. The combination of attractive choreography and sound attracted admiration from the audience who continued to applaud after Voca Erudita's performance.

Facing these two competitions, the Erudita Voca Choir sent 37 singers who were students from Java, Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua. Pringgo Widyo Laksono, as the supervisor of Voca Erudita UNS, expressed his pride and emotion over Voca Erudita's performance. In preparation for this European competition, preparations were carried out for approximately five months with the support of all parties, especially parents, donors, sponsors, and UNS.